Provisional estimates for portfolio investment assets held abroad by entities resident in Malta registered a total of €100 billion at the end of 2014, the NSO said yesterday.

The Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS) is an annual exercise carried out by a number of countries under the patronage of the International Monetary Fund. This measures the market value of total security assets held abroad by entities resident in a country, in this case Malta. This data, shown by instrument, is further broken down by country where the financial assets are invested.

Total securities at the end of 2014 amounted to €100.0 billion, an increase of €15.4 billion over the position at the end of 2013. Equity securities totalled €71.5 billion, accounting for 71.5 per cent of total securities. Equity securities increased by €7.4 billion over the previous year’s position. Total debt securities, predominantly long-term securities, stood at €28.3 billion at the end of 2014. These also registered an increase of €7.8 billion over the position as at end 2013.

Of the known geographical allocation of securities, Turkey remains the predominant country where portfolio assets are held, mainly as long-term securities. Country allocations for data pertaining to Special Purpose Entities are under review, accounting for the large figures shown under the “other not specified” category.